Flames of the Creed
by sakurademonalchemist
Summary: Long before the Vongola was made, the Brotherhood of Assassins were feuding with the Templar Order. Now the age old rivalry continues as Tsuna is tapped as the next Vongola Decimo. What the Vongola isn't expecting is that Tsuna has already been training long after he was supposed to be sealed. Tsuna is an Assassin, and he isn't about to be anyone's puppet.
1. Chapter 1

Amber eyes gazed out past the sky scraper he was crouching on. A second figure with eyes that were steel gray walked up behind him.

"You're going to be late," commented the second figure.

"Not like it matters, with how shitty the teachers are," said the first.

"You know the rules."

"Yeah, yeah. I have to at least go to two classes before you'll ignore the fact I'm skipping out early."

Clouds parted to reveal two teenagers in hooded shirts, and jeans that were well fitted. They had running shoes on in different colors.

The smaller one wore primarily white with orange accents and trims. The hood came down in a triangular shape, and covered half his face and obscured his eyes completely. There was a flame pattern on the back with an eagle that combined with the flames made it look more like a phoenix rising, with six other colors bleeding into the orange-colored fire. He wore dark gray pants that went down to his ankles that fit snugly, and a belt with several pockets attached. The buckle was that of an eagle with wings wide open, revealing some rather impressive feathers and a nasty looking beak that was deceptively sharp. The talons were just as bad, though they were 'rounded' with something that could be removed in a pinch. He had a runner's build, and was fairly short, especially in comparison to his companion/training partner.

The other teen had deep violet with thick streaks of indigo on his hoodie, and like the first boy his hood came down in a triangular shape over his face. His shirt had a similar eagle theme, though his was primarily violet with indigo bleeding into the purple. He wore a similar belt to the first, thought it had a pair of tonfas slipped through two of the loops on either side of his body. He had a runner's build, but it was very clear he had far more compact muscles and was built to deliver some truly _nasty_ blows with his primary weapons. On his shoulder was a red and gold band that read "Disciplinary Committee". A tiny canary flew to his shoulder and began chirping in a rather cheerful manner.

The smaller one sighed and used his enhanced sight before he moved away from the 'street view' and removed his hood. The hood itself obscured the eagle pattern neatly, and he was almost tempted to unzip the hoodie.

The smaller one had caramel color hair that looked almost like a lion's mane, and warm chocolate brown eyes that looked amber in the right light. He was tiny, and didn't seem like much.

The taller one had wind-swept hair as black as night, and eyes as cold as the metal they resembled. He had pale skin, purely Asian features and a rather...predatory...disposition. His left hand rested naturally on the tonfa at his side, as if he wasn't adverse to drawing it at a second's thought.

After a few moments the two 'vanished' from the public eye...only to reappear in completely different parts of the city.

Where the confident brunette was before was now a skittish teenager who acted like he would jump at his own shadow. He had the appearance of someone who had absolutely no confidence in himself and was very clumsy, often tripping on his own feet. His hoodie was wrapped around his waist, and very little of the unique characteristics could be seen. It also neatly hid his belt buckle though it didn't hurt that the front of his shirt was slightly loose at the front to create a sort of pocket that hid the eagle.

He briefly nodded in acknowledgment to his partner, and the other 'team' in the school. Everyone else in the place was either a civilian or were under his partner's control.

He hated high school.

* * *

It was an unspoken fact that the war between the Templar and the Assassins had gone on for as long as anyone could actually remember.

Just as it was an unspoken fact that both sides had general "safe areas" where one side had primary control over the town or city and where the other side was discreetly disposed of or driven off if found out.

One would think that the locations would be constantly in danger of being attacked by large groups...

Well, that was half-right. While groups of thirty or more were rather common when one side was exposed or pissed off the wrong number of people, for the most part there was an unspoken "truce" to leave the cities alone.

It was rather pointless to have large operations against each other if you had no idea who to target specifically...most of the 'controlled' cities were primarily filled with civilians after all, and secrecy was big between both groups. There was an unofficial understanding that they keep the "civilians" out of their fighting... if only to avoid the inevitable issue of governments, the military and various dictators from getting any 'big ideas' to use the highly trained killers, spies and infiltrators for their own benefit.

Sure, most of said groups were already under control by one side or another, but there were always outliers that could cause more headaches than they were worth. Never mind what immoral scientists would do with the knowledge they had.

No, for all intents and purposes it was easier to keep the civilians out of their fights. Anyone stupid enough to bring them in without a damn good reason usually ended up dead by the faction they belonged to.

For the most part, the two factions avoided said cities that were "known" to favor one far more heavily over the other, to the point that one faction basically had it under their control through the shadows.

Namimori was well known to be "Assassin" territory, to the point they had underground training facilities. And while everyone knew the Hibari "ran" the police, only a select handful was aware that the heir of that family also happened to be an almost fully trained Assassin in his own right, as was his permanent partner who was the ONLY person in the city who could reign in the worst of his "biting" habits.

Alas, even fewer were aware of his partner's "civilian" name to the point they could get him to intercede on their behalf.

However... there were times that a Templar was able to sneak in, find an Assassin or Assassin bloodline, and cause all sorts of trouble before they were put down. Usually in a rather permanent fashion.

Such was the case of Takeshi Yamamoto. When he was barely four, his mother was murdered in front of him by a Templar agent who somehow discovered her Assassin bloodline, despite the fact she was "retired" after giving birth to her son. She had married a professional Hit Man who gladly gave up that life to a more 'stable' setting after his son was born.

Tsuyoshi managed to capture the fool, but the damage was done. Takeshi's Assassin blood awakened when he had to defend himself from the Templar who tried to kidnap him, had his mother not come in the room in time to fight him off.

Tsuyoshi and Takeshi gained an eternal hatred of Templars that day. So much so that the now Sushi Chef didn't even argue when the Creed's district leader took Takeshi in for training a year later.

Within three years, another was brought in. He was a year older than Takeshi and had white hair and a fresh scar across his nose. He was also very _loud_.

"Extreme!"

Takeshi grinned as he observed his new permanent training partner.

Ryohei Sasegawa was originally a civilian, but whatever Assassin's blood he had in him woke up violent when a group of middle schoolers attempted to use his sister as a hostage.

Those boys were going to be in for a rather painful lesson from not only their parents, but the Hibari family. Targeting younger children, especially little girls (they were all teenagers) just to beat up someone who had been annoying you was a major no-no.

It was unlikely they would parole out of juvie any time before they hit eighteen for that stunt.

Takeshi was calm, and was rather "soothing" to be around. It was something he inherited from his father, apparently. Though he had yet to awaken that gift to the point he could do it deliberately.

Whereas Ryohei was energetic, all the time.

At least with the Creed he could put all that excess energy and fighting spirit to proper use. He would have been wasted as a civilian.

Besides, the two of them bonded over their respective sports and the conditioning needed to compete in them.

Takeshi yawned in class, which wasn't that unusual. He had spent all night training until one of the Master Assassins more or less kicked him out to sleep and get ready for school.

It wasn't like he _needed_ the high school degree, but it was a requirement that all trainees under eighteen attend a public or private school.

It was considered "training" in how to maintain a civilian cover. Though some people "flunked" out of regular training and needed the education.

Takeshi had always been a more hands on learner.

Hearing the familiar stumble, he could only cringe at seeing Tsuna Sawada crash into the classroom late again.

While Takeshi didn't have anything against the guy, it was hard for him to watch the kid stumble around like a skittish kitten and _not_ want to cringe at the thought of someone like him as an Assassin.

The guy wouldn't last a week before he accidentally offed himself, and he was easily frightened and bullied.

In short, he was not exactly someone who would handle the idea of a hidden war between Assassins and Templars...so Takeshi kept his distance. He wouldn't actively pick on him...Tsuna was bullied enough without his help...but he wouldn't help unless asked.

The only reason Takeshi didn't dismiss the boy outright as part of the scenery was because of his training.

Even the most timid mouse can bite and infect others with a deadly plague.

* * *

The day Ryohei learned about the Creed and the Templars, he had been a bit confused, and more than a bit leery of being around hardened killers.

Except... they had made sure the punks who almost hurt his sister were put away for what they did. They _understood_ his Extreme ways and even encouraged his love of boxing. They even introduced him to his best friend Takeshi, who would smile and cheerfully debate which was better...boxing or baseball.

They cherished his gifts and even improved his ability to fight without telling him it was wrong. Sure, he was a bit...reluctant... about the whole killing thing, but sometimes you had to be a man and put a more permanent end to a threat against your family.

What really sold him was the fact that the Creed always had watchers on his sister and parents. They kept Kyoko and Hana safe from being taken and used against him ever again, because Ryohei was one of their own.

For the first time in his life, he belonged to something bigger than himself.

And he wouldn't trade it for anything.

* * *

"Tsu-kun! You won't believe what I got in the mail today!" said Nana happily.

Tsuna listened to his mother talk about the home tutor she called, while internally cringing.

He was already texting the Creed to investigate who had been in the area that morning... the note was too sloppy to be printed and he quickly swiped it from his mother to have it analyzed.

Within hours, he received a text that had him slipping out of the way to find Hibari.

His partner would need to know about this development.

The Prefect didn't even raise an eyebrow as Tsuna slipped into the room. He quietly locked the door without a word.

"We have a problem."

Hibari didn't ask, merely pulled out his phone to get the same report Tsuna had on his own. The cells were encrypted to the Nth degree and were locked so that only their bio-metrics could unlock or use most of the functions.

"So the Vongola are attempting to reclaim the heir they threw out. Did they ever determine...?"

"It was never confirmed," said Tsuna darkly. "Which means this could very well be a Templar trap."

Hibari had a cold look on his face.

"Back-up?"

"It would be appreciated," he admitted. "I'm not stupid enough to go against the Sun Arcobaleno, even if this is my home turf."

Hibari nodded in agreement.

When he had first been paired up with his partner, he had scoffed at the idea of having to watch the annoying herbivore who yelped at every little thing.

Except... Tsuna was anything _but_ an herbivore. In the course of a week Hibari had reevaluated his initial assumption of his partner into something closer to that of a small falcon or possibly a panther.

Tsuna wasn't bulky. He wasn't a particularly good shot without the Eagle Eyes. He wasn't smart, or naturally inclined to fighting.

No, Tsuna was the sly, cunning Assassin who relied more on speed rather than pure physical strength. The kind of person who could walk right past the target and kill them with a lethal poison with them none the wiser until it was far too late.

The fact he had a fixation on heights and was actually the first to master the art of diving off large buildings and the Leap of Faith was something of an amusing quirk of his.

It was much more understandable when one took into account that he had Sky Flames. He had narrowly avoided having them sealed when his Assassin's blood warned him about the house that day, and had fled to the first "safe" adult he could find.

Ironically that turned out to be Yamamoto Tsuyoshi, who had recognized Tsuna for what he was immediately and hide the child until the threat had left Namimori.

The same couldn't be said of Nana. They still had no idea what the possible Templar sympathizers had done to the woman to seal her Assassin's blood and her gifts. Worse, they had tampered with her memories so that she had no recollection of what was wrong.

Tsuna might "live" in the house, but his home was the dorms that he shared with Hibari. More than once he had crashed in his partner's mansion rather than risk the house.

Coincidentally that always seemed to happen every time his "Father" decided to actually come home to visit. Tsuna avoided Iemitsu like the plague. Though at this point it was mostly instinctive, since he honestly had no idea what the man even looked like anymore.

Tsuna suddenly snickered.

"What's so funny?"

"Takeshi has no idea I'm an Assassin. You should see how much he cringes every time I do my klutz routine in class, or the fake yelps I let off whenever something new happens. He has no idea whether to avoid me or try and reach out...it's hilarious."

Hibari blinked, before he slowly started chuckling at the image.

Tsuna must be having so much fun messing with his fellow trainee. While they were 'aware' that there was another pair in the school it wasn't like Ryohei or Takeshi even knew what their civilian identities looked like.

The only reason Tsuna and Kyouya knew was because Ryohei had a bad habit of saying "extreme" too often and Takeshi always had the same fake laugh.

It was pretty easy to guess they were the other team, even if they didn't really 'mix' during school hours.


	2. Chapter 2

The first time Reborn saw the golden glow in his new student's eyes, he immediately suspected that Tsuna had inherited more than just his Ancestor's powerful flames. It didn't help that the longer he observed the skittish teen, he saw more and more hints of the boy having awakened the ancient bloodline of the Assassins.

And then came the moment when Reborn's suspicions were aroused.

Tsuna _should_ have been hit with his special bullet, to hopefully put a crack the seal Timoteo had placed on him as a child.

Except the Demon Prefect appeared out of the blue and _yanked_ the boy out of the way at the perfect time. He looked openly amused at Reborn, like he had expected it to happen.

More than that, he would swear he saw Tsuna's eyes flash a familiar gold before it disappeared.

A gold that only came from an _Active_ Assassin's bloodline.

Which was why Reborn had opted out of observing the boy and visiting one of his few contacts already in the city.

He came back to the home, found Tsuna trying (and failing) to study math before giving up to read one of his many graphic novels.

Reborn looked the boy in the eye and said clearly in Italian...

" _Nothing is True. Everything is Permitted."_

Tsuna didn't even _try_ to play dumb. His eyes shifted from warm brown to an amber color that was rimmed with brilliant gold.

" _Long live the Brotherhood_ ," he replied in the same language without a hint of an accent.

Reborn tilted his fedora.

"You're an Assassin. How long?"

"Since I was five and Tsuyoshi realized I had the same gifts as his wife before she died. My partner is going to be amused that you figured it out so fast," said Tsuna.

"Partner?"

"All trainees are assigned a partner until they make full Assassin. This is so they can cover for each other and act as back up in case of attack. Though in our case it's a permanent thing since my Partner is also my Cloud," said Tsuna. "There's one other 'team' in my school, but from what I've seen they have no idea I'm Assassin."

"You seem amused by that."

"The other Assassin trainee in my class is always hiding his cringe when I 'trip' on nothing and make a spectacle of myself," snickered Tsuna. "It's hilarious to watch him react to my civilian mask."

"Why wasn't I notified?"

Having an Assassin in the bloodline was to be celebrated, almost as much as having an Active Sky.

And yet Reborn hadn't known until he confronted the brat that the boy was almost fully trained.

Tsuna's amusement died instantly.

"We suspect CEDEF has been infiltrated by Templars. There's been a lot of questionable activity from the idiot running it, though at least we know for a fact that Lal Mirch is firmly an ally to the Brotherhood."

"She would be... her student is an Assassin and she found out by accident through him," said Reborn. Colonello was the reason he had gained some very useful contacts and allies in the Brotherhood. The Templars were too annoying for him to deal with and their goals were not exactly something he liked. He frowned. "What do you mean CEDEF might be compromised by Templars?"

"You've met my mother, and gotten a read on her by now right?"

Nana was a nice, if oblivious woman who didn't seem "all there". In short she was a liability in a real fight.

"I have."

"She wasn't like that until _after_ my 'father' visited with an old man and his bodyguard. My Intuition drove me to TakeSushi and Tsuyoshi-san took me straight to the Master Assassins who confirmed I had the gift as well as Active Flames...they hid me until the men left. Except when I went home, I knew immediately something was wrong and I called the contact information for my training master because my mother was acting completely off."

Tsuna gripped his hand tightly into a fist, rage clear on his features, though he kept them from overwhelming his good sense.

"Someone went and wiped out all memory of her Assassin's training and her abilities, to the point her civilian cover became her 'real' self. And we have no idea how to reverse it. She will openly ignore the fact I've come home with multiple scrapes and a broken bone, and she won't even register an active threat...they put her under a lot of killing intent when I alerted them to something being wrong and she barely even registered it. She had no idea what it was."

Reborn was immediately alarmed at that information. Though not as much as the fact that Iemitsu _somehow_ missed the fact his wife was an Assassin in the first place.

Everyone knew Iemitsu's spouse was a "civilian".

"I might have someone who could possibly identify what's wrong, but it would take time to get them here."

Shamal was a doctor, and a damn good one at that. He was also a Mist who was almost tapped for the Varia, had he not declined it. At the very least he could narrow down what it wasn't.

Reborn followed Tsuna into the underground training centers... as his new tutor and a friend of the Brotherhood through a respected member, Reborn had limited access to them. Even if he _was_ blindfolded, as all newcomers were until they proved their loyalty to the Brotherhood.

"Hn. So the fake baby is a potential ally?" asked Kyouya, his face obscured. It was part of the rules... you couldn't expose a fellow trainee if you had no idea what their real features were to the Templars if you got pissed and decided to turn against the Brotherhood. Only in the dorms among partners was that rule dropped.

Tsuna had only figured out Takeshi and Ryohei by pure deductive reasoning and kept his silence.

"Colonello is from the Italian Brotherhood. He introduced me, and I've been an ally ever since," said Reborn bluntly.

"Fon is a semi-regular here," said Tsuna cheerfully. He was also a member of the Chinese branch.

"Mind introducing me to your instructors? I'll need a _proper_ overview of your skills and actual file if I'm going to train you to take over the Vongola."

"I almost forgot Giotto was an Assassin too," said Tsuna.

"In any event I'm going to start bringing in potential candidates to fill your Guardians."

Tsuna's eyes suddenly sparkled in a way that rang alarm bells in the minds of everyone around him...yet gave Reborn the sense that the most delightful chaos was about to happen and he would be able to properly enjoy it.

"Does this mean I can finally tell the other team in our school who we are? I mean both of them are Flame Active and the Sun is already getting a lot of training in how to use his properly..."

"I'm fairly certain that the one who amuses you so much is a Rain Latent... his father was a pretty active hit man before he retired," said Reborn cheerfully.

If Tsuna was planning what he thought he was, then Reborn was going to bring a camera. This was certainly going to be amusing.

* * *

Tsuna was more than mildly annoyed when Takeshi broke his arm in training and didn't think to ask his partner to heal it before their classmates found out about it.

Seeing the amount of pressure on the teen because of his love of baseball, Tsuna decided that maybe it was time to quit hiding from the other team.

Perhaps it was Sky Attraction, or some other factor...but Takeshi came to Tsuna for advice.

"Ahaha... Looks like you could use some help," he said with fake cheer.

Tsuna made very sure they were alone... and that no one outside of Reborn was watching. When he was certain no one would see what he did next, he gave Takeshi a not so friendly slap to the back of the head.

"Are you an idiot? Your partner is a damn Sun! Why the hell didn't you ask him to fix your arm before you came to school?! I know they covered that months ago!"

Takeshi's easy going persona dropped almost instantly. In his place was a natural Assassin as his eyes glowed a golden color.

"How do you know about my partner and his Flame type?"

Tsuna openly rolled his eyes.

"Please, we had you two pegged as the other team within a few months of me being in the same class as you. Ryohei isn't exactly discreet with his yelling and the fact he uses the word 'extreme' a lot," said Tsuna. Then he smirked rather widely. "I have to admit, it was hilarious the way you kept cringing every time my civilian mask tripped on thin air or shouted like a frightened mouse."

Takeshi blinked, before he stared at him. Hard.

"What."

Tsuna was given a basic idea of which languages Takeshi had studied by the trainers. He was given their files when he asked advice about possibly making the other team his Sun and Rain guardians.

The only reason he got the file at all was because he was a Sky and had openings.

" _Where other men blindly follow the truth, remember..."_ said Tsuna in perfect Italian.

Takeshi's eyes became slightly glazed and hard like cold steel.

"Nothing is True."

" _Where other men are bound by morality and law, remember..."_

"Everything is Permitted."

The two shared a look between them, before intoning the ancient promise of the Brotherhood.

" _We work in the dark to serve the light."_

Takeshi blinked, before a wide smile came upon his face.

"Ahahaha... So you were part of the other team? I had no idea."

"Hibari Kyouya is my partner," said Tsuna, and Takeshi almost choked.

"That makes way too much sense, actually. But why approach me now? Don't the rules forbid it unless we're assigned mutual missions?"

"Everything is Permitted. Besides, I'm not approaching you as a fellow Assassin... I'm here as a Sky trying to assess whether or not you would be open to acting as my Rain and possibly my Left Hand. Tell your dad I started courting you as a Sky, rather than as a fellow Assassin and he can explain it to you. Odds are he won't be that surprised, since he felt my Flames when he first realized what I was and brought me to the training center for my protection."

"Just one question... are you the same partner that supposedly is the only one who can talk the demon prefect out of biting someone to death?" asked Takeshi seriously.

"I tempt him with a no-holds barred sparring session and suddenly his interest is more on fighting me than biting someone to death," said Tsuna dryly. "It really, really doesn't help that his uncle has a habit of visiting more often because he enjoys giving me new ideas to train with, which consequently means Hibari has to spend 'family time'...and he hates it."

Kyouya was a battle nut and he loved nothing better than to fight someone who could actually keep up with him. The fact it kept his Sky on his toes (and thus less likely to end up dead at the hands of a Templar) was a major bonus and one Fon had heavily encouraged.

The fact it meant Fon had a new excuse to visit his favorite and only nephew made it even better. Especially since Fon cheerfully shared ways to rile the boy up with his partner... ways that Tsuna shamelessly exploited to redirect his partner's energy somewhere a little less damaging.

Tsuna grinned.

"Want to watch me approach Ryohei?"

Takeshi grinned.

"Absolutely. It's probably going to amuse me as much as you've been amusing yourself at my expense with that act of yours!" he laughed.

* * *

 _With Ryohei..._

It took a little doing to corner Ryohei on one of his runs alone. Takeshi was waiting in his dad's restaurant, having been given a full explanation of what it meant for a Sky to "court" him as a potential Guardian.

His only reaction to learning Tsuna had approached him about it was "It's about damn time!"

"Sawada! What are you extremely doing here?"

Ryohei couldn't _quite_ duck the annoyed head slap. It was a habit he had from dealing with Kyouya who took it as a silent reprimand during mock training missions.

"Why the hell didn't you fix Takeshi's arm before school? As his partner you should have immediately noticed the injury and healed it before you left!" scolded Tsuna.

Ryohei's easygoing manner dropped and he slipped into a fighting stance.

"Who are you?"

Tsuna rolled his eyes.

" _Nothing is True, Everything is Permitted... We work in the dark to serve the light,"_ he said in Latin. "I had your team pegged within two months of being in the same class as Takeshi. Your verbal tick isn't exactly subtle."

Ryohei blinked. He stared at Tsuna hard.

"How do I know you're not a Templar?"

"I have no love for those nut jobs. Not after what happened to my mother," said Tsuna with such open venom that Ryohei believed him. It was the same thing he heard whenever he discussed their homework with Takeshi and the Templars came up.

He completely understood why Takeshi hated them for killing his mother when he was a kid. He disliked them for almost hurting Kyoko.

Ryohei was _very_ surprised to see Kyouya and Takeshi in one of the private rooms that were specifically set aside for the Brotherhood to discuss important business.

"Eh? What's extremely going on?"

"Ciaossu!" said a toddler with a yellow pacifier.

"...Why is the Sun Arcobaleno here?"

Reborn smirked.

"This is why I'm glad to find out my new student is part of the Brotherhood already. It smooths over so many boring details."

It also meant he could jump right in with what he considered the "fun parts".

"I'm confused."

Takeshi grinned, and it was a real one and not one of his fake mask smiles.

"Tsuna and Hibari are the other team in our school," he explained.

Ryohei blinked, before he stared at Tsuna specifically.

"I extremely get Hibari being one of us...but..."

"I know, I know... my 'Dame-Tsuna' mask is so well crafted I fooled even _Reborn_ when he first got here. I made a game of getting Yamamoto to cringe every time I faked tripping or yelped at nothing," laughed Tsuna.

"It's Takeshi. Every time you call me Yamamoto I start looking for my dad," he laughed.

"I'm sure you got the talk about Flames and how there are certain people who attract the other six to them, right?"

"Skies, though they're very rare and it's almost unheard of for an Assassin to have them and have the gifts. In fact the last _known_ example was Giotto of the Vongola famiglia," said Ryohei without thinking.

Tsuna grinned.

"Giotto was my great-great-great grandfather, and it looks like I inherited more than just his flame type."

Ryohei stared at him before he got it.

"Wait... you're courting _our_ team as your possible Elements?!"

"Kyouya became my permanent partner the day he bonded with me as my Cloud. You're both very strong examples of Rain and Sun, enough that you might be able to match mine if you put your minds to it. Besides...there's a rot in the Vongola and it's suspected that the Templars might have gotten their claws into it. Or at the very least they've infiltrated CEDEF."

Ryohei looked at Reborn.

"I was hired to train Tsuna into becoming the Decimo of the Vongola. I'm also an ally through Colonello, who's part of the Italian branch," he explained.

"So what do we extremely need to do?" asked Ryohei.

"For now we'll start taking mock missions together and hopefully a bond will start to form once we start trusting each other," said Tsuna. "I know my bond with Kyouya happened when he trusted me to have his back during a particularly nasty sparring sessions with one of the colder Master Assassins."

That man had been removed from working with _any_ of the trainees until he was no longer a danger to them or civilians. At most he was thrown at the Templars until he either got help or was killed.


	3. Chapter 3

Hayato Gokudera was hot headed, brash, and was quick to take offense at the small stuff. He was also from a known Templar sympathizer family... a fact Reborn apparently hadn't known when he brought him into Namimori.

The only reason he hadn't been chased out from the start was due to one simple fact.

His mother was a Master Assassin who was almost certainly killed by the Templars when they figured out who she was. Having him was an accident, but the fact she _died_ the same week she was planning to remove him from that house and take him to meet with the Italian branch of the Brotherhood for his training was not.

So Tsuna decided to at least give the silverette the benefit of a doubt and see if he had enough potential to possibly convert him to the Brotherhood.

...Even if they were absolutely going to train him out of using _dynamite_ of all things to kill people. Assassins were supposed to be subtle, which explosions weren't unless they were for a diversion or to be deliberately flashy.

Tsuna eyed Hayato across the empty clearing with a lazy look.

 _'Nothing about this guy screams "Templar"_ _to me...more like kicked puppy looking for a proper home,'_ he thought to himself.

If Hayato took more after his mother than his father, then it was a miracle that he had survived this long without being busted. Then again, mafia. There was a higher probability they chalked it all up to Flame types without actually looking into any gifts he might have.

Tsuna eyed Hayato with a Look.

"Just one question... did your father _really_ tell your older sister to poison you repeatedly just to play the piano?"

Hayato blinked.

"How do you know about that?"

"I know people who knew your mother. She's the only reason you weren't chased out of town on sight," said Tsuna blithely.

An odd look crossed his face.

"He did, though I think most of that was instigated by those jerks who were unusually attached to those weird crucifixes. They really didn't like my mother and they were unusually interested in me as a kid when she died."

Tsuna nodded to himself.

Lavina must have gotten careless when she went to reclaim her son, and the Templars killed her for it. Naturally they couldn't just up and take Hayato without any proof he might have inherited her gifts first, and there was little point in bringing him into their Order if he hadn't displayed anything other than the same abilities most Mafioso had. I/E, Flames.

In a way all those dynamites and his hot temper had probably saved his life.

"Wait... how do you know my mother?"

Tsuna blinked, as the "puppy" image he had of the silver haired teen only got worse. He had a sneaking suspicion Hayato liked his mother far more than his father's side.

And like any true Assassin out to piss off the Templar, he exploited it. Ruthlessly.

"Well a lot of her old friends and colleagues were quick to suggest giving you a chance to prove yourself. They were really, really pissed off that her son was stuck living with that family, especially when they found out he actually dared to order his own daughter to use you as a test dummy for her poisons. Even if it did wonders for your poison resistance training."

If he wasn't dead yet from years of exposure to Bianchi's crappy cooking, then he must have a stomach made of _steel_. Which meant he'd have a higher than normal amount of antibodies to uncommon poisons, which was always a total pain in the ass to train in the new recruits.

Hayato shook his head.

"I still plan to take your place as the next Vongola boss."

"The rings are blood locked. I highly doubt you have the right bloodline to even wear the ring, never mind you're the wrong Flame type for it," Tsuna shot back. "However you _might_ be qualified to take the place as my Right hand. Kyouya would have, except he loathes paperwork and is always making me do both of ours."

There was a distinct glimmer of hope in Hayato's eyes...then again his profile (Assassins were masters at quick information gathering) said that his dream was to be the right hand of a boss.

And an Assassin had to be ruthless, especially when it came to Templars.

Seeing he almost had him, Tsuna went for the kill.

"That, and most of our group generally tend to record things at random times for their kids to see. From what I understand she was planning to take you far away from that place, so odds are she left you a message."

Hayato lowered his bombs. It was pretty clear Tsuna had him now.

"Prove my mother was one of you... if you're telling the truth then I'll follow you for life," said Hayato firmly, his eyes glowing almost gold with his resolve.

Hook, line and sinker.

A few hours later, Hayato was swearing his undying loyalty to his "Captain", since the Brotherhood didn't really _have_ bosses. Team captains, on the other hand...

Reborn watched the whole thing with approval. Tsuna hadn't fought Hayato in the usual sense (I/E forced him to submit with superior strength) but he had won over the boy in a way any mafioso would approve of.

By going for his weak point and exploiting it ruthlessly. And in the end he subverted a known enemy into one of his most loyal allies.

Gokudera Hayato wouldn't _dare_ risk losing the last connection to his mother, and his dream of being a right hand was actually going to be granted.

Best of all, once the bond settled there was quite literally no way for his "family" to bring him back into their fold. Bianchi would find herself on the wrong end of the Brotherhood if she tried.

Reborn materialized once Tsuna converted the Storm brat.

"Well done. A bit less violent than I would have liked, but perfectly in line with an Assassin-raised mafioso," said Reborn approvingly.

"I hate Templars, so the idea of snagging one of their potential trainees was a major bonus. Though in his case it's less that we're converting him and more in line with bringing him home where he belongs."

* * *

When Trident Shamal was called in by Reborn to do a basic check up on a female, he had jumped at the chance.

At least, until he found out what the actual problem was.

"Mist-addled?" repeated Tsuna horrified.

"Whoever messed with her memory was a particularly nasty Mist...and I suspect a Templar plant," said Shamal grimly.

Reborn was already on the phone dialing not Iemitsu, who was an idiot of the highest order for missing his wife was an Assassin, but Lal Mirch.

"Ciaossu Lal. You have a serious problem."

" _What do you want Reborn? And why the hell are you calling my personal number?"_

"I'll be blunt. At any point did Iemitsu or the Vongola ever order Nana's memory to be tampered with?"

Lal was silent, before she said slowly...

" _There was an incident when Tsuna was around five. Nana walked in when Iemitsu was planning to prematurely seal his son's possible Flames, and she saw something she shouldn't have. He ordered her memory to be adjusted so that she wouldn't remember it, since he had noticed something off when he visited with Vongola Nono. I have no idea if the son was affected as well."_

"He wasn't, and you have a bigger problem than I thought if he was that stupid. You have Templars in your organization."

Dead silence.

" _What?!"_

"You heard me. Iemitsu's wife is an Assassin, and someone tampered with her memories so that she's little more than a helpless civilian. And the only ones who would deliberately mess with the training..."

" _Fuck! How the hell did I miss those bastards?! Tell me the kid is alright at least!"_

"He's almost finished the training and is close to having all his Guardians. All we're missing is a proper Lightning and a Mist."

" _I'll send over some candidate files later. Right now we need to do damage control."_

"The consensus is that the Vongola may have been compromised."

Lal swore even more hearing that. It was time to do some major damage control if that was the case, starting with Iemitsu.

"I'll call Colonello next to alert him to the possible situation."

" _Call Squalo of the Varia as well. They're firm supporters and I know for a fact_ they _haven't been compromised yet. Viper has made sure of it."_

Reborn hung up and started calling in the others.

Now that they knew a Templar might have gotten into the Vongola, they needed to clear any _others_ out before it got out of hand.

Tsuna looked at his mother with worry. Who knew what damage a Templar-trained Mist could do to her?

"Go to school Tsuna. Let us handle your mother's condition...it's been dormant for this long that it's unlikely to get any worse if you continue your routine. We're going to find the idiot who did this and then you can have some closure."

Tsuna didn't need to be a genius to read between the lines of that.

In order to become a full Assassin like Hibari, one had to 'pop' their "first kill cherry". Clearly Reborn intended for the idiot who hurt his mother to be his first kill.

 _In Italy..._

Something or someone had lit a fire under Lal Mirch's ass. She was on the warpath and not even Iemitsu could get her to calm down.

It was Basil who finally found out what she was so pissed about, enough that she had _everyone_ including Iemitsu undergoing a thorough background check. Everyone's activities were being questioned to the Nth degree and no one knew why.

"Lal-sama... what is going on?"

"Infiltrators. That idiot didn't even notice someone tampering with his wife to the point she became less than a civilian! Thank god the kid managed to escape!" she hissed.

There were times when Lal Mirch reminded _everyone_ she was not a woman you wanted to piss off.

This was definitely one of those times when it was better to stay the hell out of her warpath than it was to get caught up in her rampage.

It took her only a month to find the bastard responsible for Nana's condition.

It was _potentially_ reversible, but it might be safer for all involved if Nana didn't remember.

After all, there was no telling what sort of triggers the man put in her head.

* * *

The traitor who tampered with Nana's memories as an Assassin was cheerfully delivered by Lal Mirch personally.

"Have fun hunting kid," she said to Tsuna.

"Thank you, Lal Mirch-san," said Tsuna respectfully.

This was his initiation rite. He was being given full permission to hunt the Templar down in a special arena where he would corner and kill him. He was allowed to shoot the man, but it looked better to the Master Assassins and the Brotherhood if he did it up close and personal to display his training.

It was the _only_ time he wasn't allowed to have his partner with him on a hunt.

Tsuna was armed to the teeth, the soon-to-be dead Templar stripped of all but a knife.

He knew he was dead, but he fully planned to take the brat with him.

Tsuna took to the higher reaches... he was much like a bird of prey who observed from up high before striking from above. Not surprising, considering Sky Flames were very, very good at flying.

When he found the Templar, already looking around (but like most people, never above) for his target.

Tsuna was a silent killer... he dropped down from above with very little sound, before hiding in the shadows and throwing small rocks to disorient and distract the target.

Kyouya liked to get in up close and personal for his kills. He had the skills to go in fast and hard, and deliver deadly blows while covering from any projectiles.

Tsuna wasn't like his partner. He was small and agile, and very flexible. He was better at hiding in places no one else could fit in, or dropping in from above. He was fast and quick, and his hand to hand was better than even Kyouya's.

He didn't really tend to specialize when it came to weapons. His fingers were strong, fast (he had once taken a pick pocketing class and tested out of it within a month...which lead to a rather amusing kleptomaniac habit when he was especially bored, annoyed or just wanted to make a point) and he had an intimate knowledge of pressure points thanks to Fon.

The Chinese martial artist absolutely adored having such an attentive and friendly student. The fact he got to spend far more time with Kyouya (and annoy him in the process) was just bonus.

The Templar didn't see the boy coming. He was too fast and too smart for that.

That...and Tsuna had yet to hit a proper growth spurt since he was fourteen. He was still one of the smallest teenagers in his school. It annoyed him greatly.

Tsuna felt absolutely nothing when he disposed of the broken Templar who hurt his mother. Nothing but a sense of justice and relief that the man who damaged her so badly was gone forever.

Once the kill was confirmed, he was lead aside to have his break down in peace. Only the most cold blooded, dark hearted of people could kill another human for the first time after living a partially civilian lifestyle and not have a break down of some sort.

It took him a few minutes to register what he had done, before he started throwing up in the nearby waste basket. Kyouya was at his side in an instant rubbing his back.

"Easy... let it come out on it's own. There's no shame in avenging your mother's condition and making sure he never hurts another innocent person again," said Kyouya soothingly.

He had nightmares for a solid month over his first kill, and it was probably the _only_ time he'd welcome Fon's presence near him.

Tsuna was still shaking, but gladly accepted the offer to spend the night with Kyouya and the others.

The older teen didn't even comment when Tsuna snuck into his room to curl up against him. It was something he hadn't done in years, not since the first time they started to desensitize the rookies to real bloodshed and death in small doses so they wouldn't freeze at the sight of proper violence.

Kyouya had almost tested out of the course, but he stayed primarily to help his partner through it. He even dragged Tsuna with him on patrols through Yakuza territory so he would quit sneaking into Kyouya's room at night.


	4. Chapter 4

Tsuna stood in the oldest room on the training base. Around him were all those who were marked as full Assassins. Kyouya would have the right to intone the ancient oath, since Nana had lost her memory. He was the one closest to Tsuna after all.

He was nervous, and who could blame him? For years he had stood by from the upper walls to watch as his fellow trainees walk out onto the ancient dais and be declared full members of the Brotherhood. Assassins in name and skill, not just mere rookies still learning the ropes. Above he could vaguely see Ryohei and Takeshi watching from their usual spots near the front.

He took a deep breath, and waited for the signal.

Tsuna walked onto the dais, and saw the uniform in Kyouya's arms. This was it.

Fon was already there on the pedestal where the oath would take place. He would open up the ceremony. Tsuna took a deep, calming breath...before he walked up to where the Storm Arcobaleno was waiting for him.

"Welcome to the ancient halls of the Brotherhood. We honor you with the distinction of being known to us all as a true Assassin. Come forward and place your hand on the artifact, to be tested and proven."

Tsuna placed his hand on the cylinder. This was more of a formality, but an important one. More than once a Templar plant was discovered because the artifact had deemed them unworthy of the Brotherhood. They were always killed on the spot and the location promptly dismantled and moved to a new secure location. Trainees were only allowed to know one or two locations until they made full Assassin. Then they were quietly sworn in to more.

"Do you Sawada Tsunayoshi, swear to honor the Brotherhood in the fight for freedom? To defend mankind against the Templars' tyranny and preserve free will?" intoned Fon seriously.

"I swear," said Tsuna without a single hitch in his voice. Now that he was here, a lot of his nervousness had transitioned into conviction and resolve.

"If the Apple falls into their hands the Templars will destroy everything that stands in their way. Protest, dissent, our right to think for ourselves...Swear to me that you will sacrifice your life and the lives of everyone here to keep it from them. To protect mankind's right to free will."

Never mind that the Apple had been lost to both sides for well over four hundred years. Someone had gotten their hands on it and it vanished after a battle when the last protector was killed. Even the Templars couldn't find it using the man's descendants... the artifact was taken _after_ his death, and no survivors remained. But it was still considered one of the most important artifacts the Brotherhood had, and keeping it safe was one of the major duties of all Assassins.

"I swear, mentor," said Tsuna.

"Our own lives are nothing. The Apple is everything. The spirit of the eagle, will watch over the future."

Tsuna heard the cry of an actual eagle and had to fight the impulse to look. He almost _did_ when he felt a weight settle on his shoulder.

(He wouldn't find out until after the ceremony that Colonello, the Italian Assassin who introduced the other Arcobaleno outside of Fon to the Brotherhood, was also in attendance. The eagle that settled on Tsuna's shoulder was his animal partner Falco.)

Tsuna felt Fon's hand release from his wrist. He turned to face Kyouya, who handed him the robes before intoning the oldest oath of the Brotherhood.

" _While other men blindly follow the truth remember..."_ he began, with every person in the chambers repeating after him in unison.

"Nothing is true," said Tsuna.

" _Where other men are limited by morality or law remember..."_

"Everything is permitted."

Tsuna easily settled the Assassin's coat over his shoulders, flipping the hood over his head out of old habits.

The lights around the chamber dimmed as Tsuna completed the ceremony, finishing the oath.

"We work in the shadows to serve the light. We are Assassins," he said solemnly.

"Welcome and stand among us as our brother, Assassin," said Fon, completing the ceremony.

Tsuna would have to wait until he was out of high school before he could take any of the markings. It was a fail safe in case the Templars ever came this far into the compound. All records of Tsuna's skills and abilities had been moved to the final sanctuary where only the Brotherhood Leaders were allowed to access it. Not even he could requisition them from the archives unless he rose to that rank.

Tsuna blushed when he felt the proud gaze of Reborn and Fon on his back. Reborn was only there by invitation...and he had to sit with Takeshi and Ryohei the entire time since he wasn't actually one of them.

* * *

Romeo was an Assassin, but more than that he was a father. Sadly, because of the circumstances behind his faked death he couldn't claim his son from the Bovino famiglia. The bastards were too close to the Templars.

So when he was given a profile of a young Sky, a fully blooded _Assassin_ from the Vongola famiglia, he hadn't hesitated to head to Namimori in the hopes of being picked.

Being courted was a delicate thing, even on a good day. However when it came to Assassins, that took a whole _new_ meaning.

There was a lot more than just being "compatible", Flame wise. You had to be able to mesh with them on an instinctive level.

So when he saw Bianchi's little brother wearing the uniform of a "trainee" in the Brotherhood's private facility, he knew a lot of things had changed.

And that his "death" was likely to be revealed to be fake sooner rather than later.

He grinned and walked up behind Hayato before ruffling the brat's hair, causing him to squawk.

Hayato turned to glare, only to stop cold.

"You... They told me you died. That Bianchi killed you."

"Yeah... sorry about that brat. I had to fake it since it looked like my cover was blown. Bianchi was getting a bit too suspicious about who kept slipping you those antidotes."

Hayato choked up, before he hugged Romeo tightly.

The Lightning was the only "boyfriend" of his sister that he had ever liked. The guy would slip him little tidbits that had the antidotes to the poisons Bianchi kept using on him and went out of his way to divert his sister and dad away from him, when he really needed to be alone.

Romeo patted Hayato's head awkwardly, though his own jerked when he felt the pure Sky flames enter the room.

A teen about Hayato's age in full Assassin wear walked in with a slightly older one, clearly his partner. The other one was a Cloud, and a strong one too.

"Ah, Romeo-san. I'm Suzaku and this is my partner Seiryuu."

Romeo grinned. Hayato had let go the _second_ those flames reached him.

He sat down in one of the unused rooms, the door open enough that any real Assassin could slip out in seconds. It was a show of trust, that he wasn't there to be interrogated but more of an interview.

Sky-Flamed Assassins didn't get preferential treatment as such, but they did tend to create small Elite teams that could be called on when no one else could be trusted. Unlike the mafia they weren't considered Royalty, but they were often considered when it came time to elect new Leaders for the Brotherhood, especially in the minor regional ones.

They were pushed extra hard because more was expected of them, and it showed.

"So you know Hayato?"

"I helped the kid out a few times. Slipped him the antidotes to the Templar poisons Bianchi kept using on him, diverted that asshole dad of his or distracted Bianchi to give him some space. Even managed to hide the fact he had the gift...made it seem like he was on the verge of simply going Flame Active whenever the higher mucky-mucks from the Order came by."

Tsuna was smiling. He liked Romeo far more than he did some of the other applicants already.

"It says here you have a son."

"Yeah, he's only five but he's an active little guy. I wish I could have taken him away, but the Bovino are deep with the Templars. And after I faked my death, it was safer if they didn't know he was one of us," said Romeo.

"What's his name?"

"Lambo," said Romeo... and there was a sudden crash outside.

"Wait, that annoying brat is _your_ son?" said Reborn irate.

Romeo blinked.

"How do you know Lambo?"

"Those idiot Bovinos have been using him as a testing dummy with me as the target. The brat isn't much good, but he has decent aim and he's been able to track me down fairly easily for a kid. He's annoying as hell though!" ranted Reborn.

Romeo looked suitably horrified hearing that.

Tsuna was already feeling a slight resonance with Romeo, and decided to hit a few birds with one stone.

"Reborn, you said Lambo has a habit of tracking you down and following you right? And Romeo, you said you haven't been able to reclaim your son from the Templar-sympathizers?"

Romeo blinked.

"Uh...yes?"

Tsuna grinned.

"Then the answer is simple. I need a proper Lighting, Reborn wants Lambo to leave him the hell alone, and Lambo needs a father. So we wait for him to track Reborn down here, you'll show up and get a paternity test and prove you're his biological father, and you'll be able to raise your son and know that he's safe with the Brotherhood rather than in the potential hands of the Templars," said Tsuna. "It's a win-win scenario for everyone but the Order."

Romeo blinked, before a grin came onto his face.

"I can see we're going to have a fun time working together, Captain," said Romeo.

"Just so long as I don't have to deal with Lambo's pathetic attempts to 'kill' me again."

It took less than a week for Lambo to show up...needless to say the Brotherhood was none-too-pleased to discover that the Ten Year Bazooka was less of a myth and more of an actual weapon.

Romeo's custody of the little bull (because Lambo was firmly in love with the animal) went unnoticed. As far as the Bovino famiglia was concerned, the family nuisance had been adopted by the Vongola heir as his Lightning.

In short they'd keep supplying the brat with more ammunition to go with the bazooka and be none the wiser that the Brotherhood was working day and night to find a way to put a stop to it.

It was bad enough that the Templars had the Animus. They didn't need to add _actual_ time travel on top of that monstrosity.

On the plus side, Lambo was far more well behaved now that his father was back in his life. He seemed to enjoy playing with the other Assassin kids, who didn't make fun of him for being so loud or energetic.

* * *

Tsuna was about to head out when he heard his name called.

Today was supposed to be a team training exercise, since he had hopefully filled out his Guardian posts save for the Mist.

He turned to find...

"Master Fon? I didn't know you were coming."

"Hello, Phoenix. I have a...favor...to ask of you and Kyouya."

Tsuna waited for Fon to become more comfortable before he continued.

"I have an apprentice. She's only five but she's very gifted in martial arts. However... one of her gifts as an Assassin awakened at the worst possible time when someone I know to be a Templar happened to be visiting the clan and he recognized them for what they were. He has no idea I'm a member of the Brotherhood, only that my apprentice has the right gifts and he's been making inquiries about acquiring her. I recently learned he attempted to convince the Elders to send her on an assassination mission."

"And you fear he'll use it as an opportunity to make a grab for her outside your reach."

"I would rather she be moved to a more secure location and trained discreetly by the Brotherhood than allow the Order to get her," said Fon flatly. "Namimori is known Assassin territory... he wouldn't be able to slip past Kyouya's net so easily or his colleagues. And I know you're reasonably skilled at martial arts and can handle the basic training."

Tsuna didn't even have to think about it. The idea of anyone getting their claws into one of Fon's little ones (he took apprentices rarely, and only those who showed the proper mindset), especially a damn Templar, made his blood boil.

"She can stay with our group. I'm sure Lambo would love having a new playmate his own age who's also mafia."

"Lambo as in the Bovino child that has been irritating Reborn?" asked Fon amused.

"His father's one of us and faked his death. As far as those sympathizers need to know, the kid is slowly bonding to the Vongola heir as his potential Lightning. Not that I'm saying he _couldn't_ take the post, but I think Romeo is a lot more acceptable than a five year old."

Fon looked relieved, though he hid it well.

"I'll redirect I-Pin to Namimori under the guise of a mission and give her the 'safe phrase' to use if anyone approaches her that feels Active. If anyone asks she's on a mission that I authorized and was adopted by the Vongola heir when he noticed her in his territory."

"I'll warn Kyouya then," said Tsuna. He would adopt I-Pin the first chance he had. She deserved to have an actual childhood, and not end up brainwashed.

At least she would have a choice with them.

Within two weeks, Tsuna "stumbled" upon a little girl with a familiar uniform who was terribly nearsighted (ironic, considering she had Eagle Sight) and smiled.

He started up a light conversation, before saying the phrase Fon had given the girl as a "precaution" against those who would kidnap her.

"We work in the dark to serve the light," he said quietly in Mandarin.

I-Pin relaxed in his hold immediately. This boy had to be one of her master's contacts that he told her about. She followed him to the agreed location, which was Kyouya's home.

Within a week, Templars attempted to infiltrate the town to find the "missing" girl. While her target was killed (by Tsuna with a sniper's rifle) I-Pin had never returned or contacted Fon.

Kyouya was a very happy Assassin that week, delivering new 'test subjects' for the rookie Assassins to use to pass their initiation test.

On an unrelated note, Takeshi and Ryohei were the next to undergo the ancient ceremony and could now call themselves proper Assassins. Mostly thanks to the vic...er, _volunteers_ Kyouya delivered.


	5. Chapter 5

Bianchi was understandably leery of entering Namimori. It had nothing to do with the fact she was planning to complete a hit on a _civilian_ and everything to do with the fact she was in Assassin territory and they didn't take kindly to people like her from Templar families.

It was a bit late for her to pull out of the Templars...by the time she understood exactly _where_ her father got all those poisons she used so regularly, she was practically one of them without knowing it.

Now she was more or less stuck with the annoying bastards. All of whom had an unhealthy interest in _her_ brother for some reason.

Spotting her target, Bianchi dug out one of her more volatile concoctions that was in a well disguised can.

She went to toss the clueless kid the 'soda'...only to dodge at the last second from having it spray all over the bike.

The bike melted from the acidic quality of the poison, and she stared in shock. How the hell had a mere civilian known that the can was bad? Much less be able to aim it _accurately_ at her in an almost painful attack?

By the time she turned to look at the boy, he was already gone. Like a ghost in the mist.

Still, her instincts as a killer warned her that he was far more than a mere civilian his file claimed he was.

"Reborn, quick question. Why would a _known_ Templar-raised hit woman be in a city that they know damn well is Assassin territory, much less attempt to kill a 'civilian'?"

Reborn looked over his paper with an odd expression.

"Is this a hypothetical scenario or were you actively targeted?"

"Bianchi just showed up on a granny bike, threw a can at me _specifically_ and it was acidic enough that the bike _melted_ when I threw it back at her open."

"Bianchi, as in the Poison Scorpion and Hayato's older half sister? That Bianchi," said Reborn. He almost had a pained look on his face.

Her attempts to kill Dino were all in good fun and great for training (he was part of neither faction, and therefor considered neutral), but this was Tsuna. All his files said he was a civilian and there was no way in _hell_ his status as the Vongola's potential last heir had spread that far. Nono would have shut it down if it had, if only to keep Iemitsu from whining.

So why was she here, and attempting to kill his newest student? A 'known civilian' who's only link to the underworld was Iemitsu? At least officially anyway. And how would she have known he was Iemitsu's son when that idiot at least didn't let pictures of his "family" spread in order to keep them safe?

Something didn't add up.

Hearing the doorbell, they looked out and saw a familiar head of pinkish-red hair and a pizza box.

"Really? It's like she's _asking_ for me to kill her," said Tsuna unimpressed.

"Let's find out why she's in Assassin territory. I doubt she's aware her brother is here just yet and your files clearly state you're a civilian. She should have no reason to be using her poison cooking on you unless it's a sanctioned hit, otherwise the Vindice would be on her ass very quickly."

Bianchi was on thin ice with the mafia's "police/judge" faction, who were brutally neutral. Her multiple dead boyfriends were only tolerated because they were all mafioso, and if she ever started going after civilians outside sanctioned hits they were going to arrest her in short order. And she should know that.

Besides, as far as Reborn was aware, no one knew Iemitsu's son had been picked as Decimo heir just yet. And if they did, they certainly shouldn't have his address.

Which made her appearance here highly suspicious. Particularly considering the faction she was with.

Reborn barely had to do more than hit the cloud of poison to disperse it safely and that was all the time Tsuna needed to hit Bianchi with several pressure points to knock her ass out. She didn't even know what hit her by the time Tsuna caught her.

"Right. Reborn, could you hand me my phone? I have the feeling we're going to need to interrogate her before we figure out what to do with her," said Tsuna flatly.

Reborn smirked, and handed Tsuna his chameleon Leon. Within minutes Kyouya and the Disciplinary Committee had Bianchi in one of their cars.

She was a Templar... that was all the information they needed to give her a full work up to find out why she was there.

Tsuna listened to Bianchi's so-called reason for infiltrating Namimori with disbelief.

"Wait... you mean to tell me this is all _Reborn's_ fault?" he said incredulous.

Reborn looked just as irritated.

"Her obsession with me was amusing at first, and good training for Dino... but to follow me _here_ to kill someone who by all rights was only just introduced to the mafia?" he said in disappointment. Bianchi should have known better.

Besides, her obsession with someone who physically looked like a toddler went beyond borderline disturbing and headed straight to something Reborn wanted nothing to do with. He had mostly humored her because he was a gentleman and a flirt, but this was getting out of hand very quickly.

Hayato would be happy later that they hadn't made him confront his own personal demon. While he did care for Bianchi (she was blood after all) the woman had tormented him for years with her poisons and had made his life hell either directly or indirectly with her behavior.

To say nothing of the creeps she kept dating. He could honestly claim Romeo was the _nicest_ boyfriend she had ever had.

Well, nice to him at any rate. Thank _God_ Shamal was not interested in his sister and had helped him out more than once.

Though it did present an interesting quandary, considering what he knew of the Templars. He was raised Catholic (he mostly paid lip service to the whole thing since he was mafia, but still) so was it allowed to praise that particular deity considering the Templars were practically sanctioned by the Church?

(Hayato later found out that several Assassins _did_ semi-worship that particular god, though it made far too much sense when he stumbled across an actual shrine to Zeus and Hades in the training halls one morning. If anything it's suggested that they did keep such thoughts to themselves or at least quiet enough not to piss off the older Assassins who hated Templars and anything to do with the Church with a passion.)

Tsuna looks at Reborn.

"Right, how do we handle this?"

"Put the fear of god into her by pointing out if she did kill you, then the Vongola _and_ myself would be on her ass in a heartbeat. No need to expose your identity to her just yet unless she presses the issue," said Reborn immediately. "Or we could send a Mist in to find out why she's so damn obsessive and hopefully nix that in the bud."

"Right...let's try reason first then we'll dole out the Mists if we have to," said Tsuna with a grimace.

* * *

Bianchi was a total nightmare. She seemed overly fixated on the whole "true love conquers anything, including poison" thing, had a strange fascination with Reborn (thankfully for their sanity it wasn't anything perverted), and was dead set on bringing Hayato home regardless of how he felt about the place.

On the bright side, she did seem to genuinely care for her younger brother even if her ways of showing it were completely screwed up.

Tsuna had a headache by the time they were done. Bianchi didn't seem to know or care she had done anything wrong and any loyalty she had to the Templar faction was more because she had no idea how to get away from them and was in too deep since they were her primary suppliers. She wasn't actually _loyal_ to the Templar or their "ideals" at all, more like going through the motions.

In fact her only loyalty to this point was to Hayato, since she wasn't too keen on her father or their family at all. That and she appeared to have an honest admiration of Lavina as a person, and had no clue the woman was an Assassin.

"This is a damn mess and a half. Though considering she isn't loyal per say to the Templars..." mused Tsuna.

"What are you planning?"

"We send in a Mist to check for triggers or repressed memories. If she comes up clean, then maybe we could try _converting_ her and claiming Sky Attraction or something. If we have to kill her I'd prefer Hayato not be there to witness it, if possible. He does care a little for his sister, even if he's openly traumatized by her."

Family was a fickle thing. You could fight like cats and dogs on the outside, but may the gods help you if you threatened them. Even if they acted like they hated each other and would rant and rave about how bad the other was, sometimes blood won out and they'd turn on you in a team effort if they thought family was being threatened.

And if Bianchi really wasn't loyal to the Templars in the first place, then it _might_ be possible to at least try and convert her in the name of spending proper quality time with her little brother.

Except what the Mists found in Bianchi's head threw any ideas of trying to convert her out the window.

Someone had been in her head before. And they hadn't been nice about it.

"She has several signs of having a Mist go through her head regularly," said Shamal grimly. "It's a miracle she's _this_ sane with what I saw."

Tsuna frowned, as did Reborn.

"This damage... could it have caused her to overly fixate on certain things or completely ignore the obvious?"

Like the fact she was hurting her brother to the point he was terrified of her?

"Almost certainly. From what little I've seen it's possible they tried to forcibly make her loyal to the Templars, but she managed to fight it off. Or they forced her to forget certain memories. It's definitely not an Assassin's work, I can say that much for certain."

"Find out _exactly_ what sort of damage we're talking about and what was done. If we're lucky, Hayato might get his sister back," said Tsuna bluntly.

Tsuna was more or less the sort that people would consider a Leader in a crisis. Even Kyouya listened to him when he got that sort of tone in his voice, and Shamal didn't hesitate to started looking and find out exactly what had been done to the Poison Scorpion. Besides, he was working on a pretty girl. He wasn't about to say no to that!

Tsuna went to find Hayato.

"What's up Captain?" asked Hayato, still in his trainee uniform. He had heard they caught a possible Templar, but that was about it.

"Hayato, you might want to sit down first," said Tsuna calmly. Hayato did so, not getting why Tsuna had that look on his face. "We captured your older sister Bianchi after she specifically targeted me, even going so far as to come to my house directly in an attempt to kill me. Something about 'freeing Reborn' so that he would once again take on hits with her."

Hayato was glad he was sitting down now.

"Is she..."

"She's still alive, and we may have found something wrong with her mind. According to Shamal a Mist has gone through it more than once and not been gentle about it. It's entirely possible you _might_ get your sister back. If not, and the damage is too far gone we will give her a mercy killing. I want you to know that you will _not_ be asked to do it if it comes down to that," said Tsuna firmly.

Hayato looked torn between relieved and horrified. He wasn't sure how to feel exactly, just that he still held onto the hope that Bianchi could be saved. She might have made his life hell, but he still remembered the good times when she acted like a real big sister and cared for him.

Out of their family, she was the only one who gave a damn enough to hunt him down and try to stay in contact, as messed up as her methods were.

It took him a few minutes to realize someone was hugging him, anchoring him to the here and now. It took him even longer to register it was Takeshi, with calling the others in their team in to sitting across from him and letting him know they were there for him.

He broke down crying, tying him even further to the group as he allowed himself to be weak and trusted them to not hurt him.

In the other room (locked, bolted and with several Master Assassins ready and waiting to take Bianchi out if she managed to get past Shamal and proved a danger) Shamal was busy at work with an unconscious Bianchi. This was more for her sake than his... trolling through someone's head like he was doing was painful and she could lash out instinctively.

The fact she didn't do more than twitch a few times meant that she had been through this procedure far too many times to make a womanizer like Shamal happy. No one should be forced to build up a resistance to this sort of thing.

He found a _lot_ of repressed memories, several compulsions and a trigger or two.

It looked like Bianchi had been 'specially chosen' to act as an tool and possible breeding material by her father, except Lavina intervened in time to save the girl from becoming a weapon for the Templars. It had been her fault that Bianchi got so hooked up on that "true love conquers anything" nonsense, which was really the least damaging aspect of her personality.

It had helped her cling to her humanity and sense of self long enough to keep a distance from the hard-core Templars or their sympathizers like her father.

Shamal grimaced.

There was a _high_ chance Bianchi could be if not saved, then at least freed from being forced to work with the Templars. They had done a lot of damage to her.

Hayato had at least been free of such things, but that was mostly because Bianchi had sacrificed her own sanity to protect him. She genuinely cared for her little brother.

Which meant he could be used to hopefully anchor her in reality and give the Brotherhood a new source of information against the Templars. Enough to shut her famiglia down anyway. If not... well he highly doubted the Vindice would care if the family was more or less wiped off the map because one of their schemes backfired on them so spectacularly at the request of the heirs.

Shamal did what he could for now, but Bianchi would have to be sedated until further notice.

He went outside, proved he was still the same, before he went to find the team. Hayato was curled into the Rain brat, and Shamal didn't have to be a mind reader to see there might be something that could grow there. If for no other reason than the fact he knew damn well Hayato was bi, and from Takeshi's files he had admitted he was open to the idea of sharing his bed with another guy, rather than just girls.


	6. Chapter 6

Therapy, especially to work past mental conditioning and crappy parenting, was messy, unpleasant and downright painful. Emotionally, physically and mentally. Add on top of that the fact she was deep in "enemy" territory with the only reason she was kept alive and not tortured was because the kid she tried to kill was trying to help her for her brother's sake, and even someone as twisted as Bianchi knew when to shut up and not piss off the people who were trying to undo the damage.

She would never lose that odd notion of "true love conquers all" (it was an anchor and a harmless one), but at least her obsession with Reborn had finally died a painless death.

Hayato walked in with a tray of food for his sister. It was simple fair, with a bottle of water, but at least they were feeding her.

Bianchi really looked forward to his visits, even if Hayato kept his hood up so he wouldn't have to look at her face directly. Genuine love for him or not, she had still inflicted a _lot_ of trauma on him as a kid and he had trouble looking at her without his stomach almost killing him.

He could handle her using him as a teddy bear during the sessions with the Mists on staff (mostly Shamal, since he was a familiar face they could semi-trust) but looking at her was going to take a lot of trial and error.

As it was, some of the trust that had been lost between them was well on the way to mending when Hayato found out that a good chunk of the worst damage done to his sister was done because she sacrificed her mental health to keep him safe. She was a good big sister, but circumstances caused a massive rift between them.

"How are you holding up?" asked Tsuna seriously.

Hayato paused, before he pulled his hood back.

"I can't believe the crap Onee-san went through for me," he admitted. That had been a massive blow to his mental image of his sister. Especially learning of the conditioning they had been trying to enforce.

Tsuna put a hand on his shoulder.

"Bianchi is at least cooperating with us, which is a very good sign. Especially Shamal swore that the only reason she _is_ behaving is because she knows you're here and willing to work with us. The fact she's a rather large source of information that has no real loyalty to the Templars is also a big factor in her favor. With any luck we might at least be able to hire her on as a 'bodyguard' for my mother or something. It would keep her busy and semi-out of the way, and it would be a major sign of trust."

The fact it might hopefully spark something in his mother, enough that they could possibly work with to bring her back was another factor.

For now Tsuna would live with the fact she was "stable, but civilian".

Hayato nodded, before flipping his hood on again. He went in and gave his sister the food and water, and a new book to read. With little else to do, Bianchi had become something of an avid reader.

* * *

Tsuna took one look at the little boy with the ability to make things float, then at the obvious mafioso.

"Hey there little one."

"Hi, Tsuna-onii-san!" said the boy brightly.

Tsuna raised an eyebrow at the fact the kid clearly knew his name when he only vaguely had an idea of who the boy was. He wanted to think Templar plant, since the group had been making themselves known to Namimori a lot in recent months, but somehow his gut was telling him this was entirely "Mafia related", not Templar or weird coincidence.

And considering the kid looked openly relieved to see him, Tsuna was willing to bet the boy had sought him out _specifically_.

He easily picked the kid up on one arm and carried him home. His mother was out in one of her community meetings and therefor would be gone for _hours_.

Reborn took one look at the kid and his eyebrows went up.

"Where did you pick up the Ranking Prince?"

"So he is mafia-related?" he asked.

Reborn nodded.

Tsuna sat the boy down on a chair in the kitchen and got him a quick snack and some cold tea. All the kids that he dealt with (which were mostly I-Pin and Lambo) had bottomless pits for stomachs and this one looked almost gaunt, like he hadn't had a decent meal in a while. His clothes were scuffed and his hair looked a little oily which meant he had been on the run for at least a week or possibly longer.

The kid ate his snack in a neat, if hurried pace and down most of the tea.

"So what brought you to Namimori?" he asked gently, keeping his voice soothing like when Lambo had a temper tantrum and threw one massive fit. Only three people could calm him down when he got like that... Romeo (Lambo was very much a daddy's boy), Tsuna, and surprisingly Hayato.

Mostly because the Storm tended to bribe Lambo with caramels or something that would keep Lambo's mind occupied with the sweet taste for an hour in addition to discreetly 'gluing' his mouth shut.

"You were ranked number one for not turning requests from small children, and dead last for mafia ambition! Which means you won't try to take my book! You're also ranked in the top ten as the most protective of children in danger and being able to handle yourself in a fight without Flames!" said the boy proudly.

"I take it his book is valuable?" asked Tsuna to Reborn. The kid clutched his book close to him.

"Information is power. His rankings are almost a hundred percent accurate, which means a lot of people would be after him. If you were to take him under your protection like you did I-Pin, it would mean they would have to go through the you to get rankings. Though there will always be idiots trying to kidnap him and use him to rise through the ranks," said Reborn flatly.

"And I could care less about the whole thing," said Tsuna dryly. "Which makes me likely one of the rare people who would protect him from the idiots because he's a kid who doesn't need that sort of stress and not because he's supposedly valuable."

Tsuna pulled out his phone.

"Hey Kyouya? I might need a clean up squad later. No, not the same headache that's been bothering us in the past few months. This time it's purely mafia-related. A small animal has entered the territory seeking protection from the fake carnivores that are drawn to it from the Mafia. Let me clear out the ones after it now and you can play with anyone else who comes here after it without going through us first," said Tsuna. He chuckled after a moment. "Yeah, I thought you'd get a kick out of that. I'm not sure when the fake carnivores are going to be here, but you're welcome to come play with them if you arrive before they do."

Reborn smirked at the exchange. Tsuna truly knew how to handle that vicious Cloud of his. Then again they had been partners for years, and Kyouya was content to delegate the leader role to Tsuna so long as he was pointed in the direction of some proper "fun".

Kyouya was there in five minutes. He looked particularly bloodthirsty, and by that time Tsuna had gotten a proper name for the kid.

Fuuta de la Stella, aka the Ranking Prince.

When the mafioso arrived (though they didn't breach the house, since they weren't entirely stupid) Tsuna had Reborn take a look to see what they were dealing with.

The Arcobaleno mostly humored him because it was pretty clear Tsuna and Kyouya would handle things outside. They just needed a mafioso's opinion of their opponents.

"Todd famiglia, and not their best men either. There might be one or two Flame users out there but it's doubtful. And they won't be using any here because it's still a civilian area and it would only risk the Vindice. They'll be expecting civilians, not either of you," said Reborn with a smirk. "In short, they're chumps and not likely to give you any trouble unless one of them gets a lucky shot off or something."

He could take them out no problem, though he doubted they'd be stupid enough to come after him directly. However this was a good time to give Tsuna and his partner some combat experience against normal mafioso.

"Just know I will be grading your performance later!" Reborn called out.

Tsuna flashed him a grin.

"Want me to call Fon-sensei so he can join in?"

Reborn seriously considered that. Fon had opted to stay in Namimori with his apprentice, since it was better to lie low away from the Triads for the moment. He sent out a quick text and Fon was on the roof opposite within minutes. He always was the fastest of the Arcobaleno...and he had popcorn with him. It took little doing for Reborn to join him with a smirk and a video camera.

"Is it bad that I feel absolutely zero pity for the idiots who would openly chase down a kid to use him?" asked Tsuna.

Kyouya snorted derisively.

"Yeah, I didn't think so. They're practically begging for it, since they didn't bother to take into account this is your turf," said Tsuna grinning as he shook his head. Kyouya smirked at his partner.

The two flipped up their hoodies, drew their weapons, and came out blazing.

The mafioso didn't know what hit them, only that the house was far more well defended than they ever anticipated and there was a Sky among them.

All they would recount to their boss was that the Sky was _vicious_ with his fast and precise blows and that his Cloud was damn terrifying with that smirk of his. More to the point they hadn't needed any Flames, as the Sky was beyond fast and light on his feet while the Cloud was breaking bones left and right.

Clearly they had wandered into the wrong turf. It would only take two more attempts before the Todd famiglia chocked up claiming the Ranking Prince as a bad job... whoever ran that city was too well defended and had too many well trained fighters more than happy to protect the kid.

Nana was absolutely delighted to have another child in the house, and Fuuta looked enough like Tsuna that most people would mistake them for brothers anyway at a passing glance.

As it was, Tsuna had firmly vetoed letting the kid in the training grounds. Fuuta would forever be stuck in the small animal category when it came to his "overprotective big brothers" and was given the task of keeping the younger kids (I/E Lambo and I-Pin) along with any civilians and noncombatants out of the area if a major fight broke out. His job was to be the voice of reason and keep everyone together until they could regroup.

* * *

Hayato had to be held back by his 'brothers' when the last barrier between Bianchi and the repressed memories cracked. Hearing that pained cry from his sister made all his instincts as her family demand that he go and comfort her. But it was too dangerous...she might lash out at any males in the room out of instinct.

Some of the memories of what were done to her had her afraid of any male save for Tsuna, Shamal, Reborn or Hayato.

Tsuna and Hayato because one was an accepting Sky and was very kind, while the other was her little brother that she sacrificed so much for.

Shamal because he had been the one to slowly peel back the layers so that she could reclaim her life back.

And Reborn because he was a face she trusted and because he didn't mind if she used him as a teddy bear of sorts while Shamal did his job. His Sun Flames eased a lot of her pain, while his small size and condition meant that even if he did have any urges he most certainly wouldn't act on them.

Once this was done (and all the triggers that might have been placed permanently removed), hopefully Bianchi would have a clean slate to work with.

Any loyalty she might have had to the Templars died when the memories of the experiments used on her came rushing back. Especially the painful interrogations about Hayato and the possibility that he might have awakened to Lavina's gifts.

Bianchi slumped in her restraints. Hayato looked like he was just shy of going in there, restrictions be damned. He had become properly close with his sister, so seeing her like this was hell on him.

Shamal checked her.

"You can come in, but let her sleep. Once her mind is done sorting through the information it's been hiding she's going to need some intensive therapy before she's going to be fully functional. There could be relapses, as some of those memories I wouldn't wish on anyone and I'm not going to erase them unless it's absolutely necessary," said Shamal.

Hayato was at her side in an instant. Having one of her anchors nearby when she woke could help. Or it could hurt considering that anchor was a male.


	7. Chapter 7

Reborn was firmly on Tsuna's shoulder as they went straight to the main audience chamber. There was a buzz of excitement in the air, though no one was entirely sure why save for the Master Assassins.

"What's going on?"

"I'm not sure, but I bet it has something to do with the recent attack in Italy," said Tsuna.

Tsuna took position next to Kyouya, while Reborn made do on the 'guest' balcony. While he was a trusted ally he wasn't an Assassin, so he was required to stay up there. He wasn't stupid enough to piss off an entire compound of trained killers, especially for something so minor.

"My brothers and sisters! I have important news," said the Leader of the Namimori compound. "Last week an attack was made against the Templar and the Abstergo group...we have captured an Animus."

Tsuna wasn't the only one who went still with shock.

The Animus was a dangerous weapon the Templars often employed against the Brotherhood in an attempt to reclaim lost artifacts, particularly the Apple which had been missing for four centuries.

If they had a working Animus, they could decrease the amount of training time in new recruits with confirmed bloodlines. Not to mention find a way to counter the device's effects when it came to memory regression against captured Assassins.

"The device will be moved to a secure facility. Those interested in experiencing the training once we have it working may sign up in the training hall."

Tsuna almost vibrated with eagerness.

His flame training had stagnated, and he was quite curious to see the skill of his ancestor Giotto.

Tsuna easily slowed slightly to allow Reborn to jump on his shoulder.

"What is the Animus?"

"It's a machine that causes genetic regression to our ancestors. For example if I were to go in, I would experience the memories and actions of Giotto or any other assassins in my bloodline," explained Tsuna. "The Templars have been using it for over a decade to try and locate where the Apple vanished to."

"What is this Apple?"

"The Apple of Eden. The Brotherhood protects it because it contains the seed of free will for humanity. If the Templars ever got their hands on it, they would use it to strip us of it and control everything. Of course it disappeared centuries ago without any warning and no one is entirely sure who took it," explained Tsuna.

"...You're going to sign up for it, aren't you?"

"I want to see what Giotto was like, I'm sure Takeshi or Hayato would do the same."

Tsuna was one of the first to sign up. Aside from reliving the genetic memory of the Assassin in their bloodlines, it also had the rather happy side effect of imparting the memory of their fighting style and occasionally languages. Tsuna had hit a dead end when it came to his weapons training, so he was hoping Giotto's memories would spark something.

It really didn't hurt that _physically_ Tsuna was almost a dead ringer to Giotto, or that the brotherhood had shared a few pictures of the man in his full Assassin's uniform complete with the Creed's marking.

Tsuna panned to have his own mark in the exact same spot. Naturally all trainees who took up the mark of a full Assassin learned to hide such things with make up or in the case of Tsuna and the Flame Actives, with Mist Flames. Once he was eighteen he and Kyouya fully planned get great wings tattooed on their backs that would resemble an eagle's, much to the amusement of Fon.

"So what's this I heard about you being on the short list for the specially bred eagles that only certain members are allowed to get?" asked Reborn, changing the subject.

"Much like Falco or Leon, the birds are essentially bonded familiars. Once the egg is safe to move, which is a week before they hatch, you have to pour your Flames into them regularly so that they bond to you properly. It's a sort of discreet way of showing that you're part of the Creed to the other branches without having to show the mark. And if anyone asks then I can honestly claim I've taken up falconry and that the bird is trained."

"You look more like a cat person," said Reborn.

"I get that a lot, but I've always wanted someone to fly with me when I'm using Sky Flames, and the bird would be perfect. Plus it can deliver messages and spy on people, with how technology has advanced. Who's going to notice a bird?" said Tsuna.

"So when is the next batch due?"

"They aren't telling us, so there aren't any...incidents...of people trying to claim one by force. If you're lucky to be selected this go around the egg will appear in your room with a special container to keep it warm and secure until you get to it, and you can keep it in there until it hatches. They make you take a special class long before you're even allowed near one so people who are put on the list know how to care for the fledgling until it's big enough to hunt for itself. They only hand out five or ten each year, after all," said Tsuna.

Reborn stroked Leon's back thoughtfully. The idea of his student having a bonded familiar was a good one, and if anything Tsuna could always ask Colonello for advice.

So it was with some surprise when Tsuna woke up a few days later to find an egg in a special container on his desk.

Tsuna held it almost reverently and made sure to keep it safe in the front pocket of his hoodie.

"What do you have there?" asked Reborn.

Tsuna shyly showed it to him.

It took Reborn all of two seconds to realize it was fake...and quite likely an unspoken test to weed out the unworthy applicants early on before they even got close to the real thing.

Which was why Reborn decided to keep his silence and watch how Tsuna did on his own. He had the suspicion that the 'real' one would be the progeny of Colonello's partner Falco.

When Reborn had commented on the 'special eagles' that were handed out as familiars, the blond had confirmed it was a real thing and that Falco occasionally joined in on the mating season. Though he only ever produced one egg whenever he joined in, the chicks that came out of the union were stronger, faster and far more intelligent than normal...and if their human handlers were _Flame Active_...well, it was as close to a harmony bond they were ever going to get in some cases.

This year Falco had joined in (which he did roughly once every three to five years), which meant there was almost certainly going to be a 'extra special' egg among the ones handed out.

Reborn had the feeling Colonello would insure Tsuna got that particular egg, if that was the case.

It was rather interesting, seeing the way Tsuna interacted with the egg at night, right before bed. He was already treating it like a partner and Reborn could tell he was rather eager to meet his new friend.

Seeing his pacifier glow, Reborn opened the window for Colonello. Tsuna was using the bathroom, so if he was quick then it was unlikely the boy would know of the switch.

"Yo. Where did he put the container?"

Reborn carefully opened up the drawer. Colonello easily switched the fake egg with a slightly larger one that had a certain aura about it.

"One of Falco's?"

"Yup," said Colonello cheerfully. "I pick who gets those eggs, and since Tsuna's been taking such good care of his for the test, then he deserves to have it. Besides, he's going to need all the help he can get dealing with your chaotic ass."

Reborn almost shot at him, except that would have alerted Tsuna to the fact Colonello was there.

"Just tell him to keep the egg close with him for the next three to four days until it hatches. He gives off enough Flames naturally that he doesn't need to push anymore into it. Besides, Skies are naturally able to form strong bonds without the extra help," said Colonello.

Reborn nodded and Colonello flew off.

"Who was that?" asked Tsuna, yawning.

"Colonello came to swap out the fake egg you were given for the real thing," said Reborn.

"Fake egg?" said Tsuna.

"It was a test to see if you had the right attitude for the real thing. One you passed. He said to keep it close for the next three to four days and don't push any extra Flames into it. You naturally give off enough for it to feed off of, and Skies are more inclined to form strong bonds without the help," said Reborn.

Tsuna cradled the precious egg against him. Now that he was looking at it, he could tell a major difference. Not only was it bigger, but it also felt so much more _alive_ to his senses.

In order for a proper imprinting to take place, Tsuna took the precious egg with him to the training hall to the room he shared with Kyouya during the summer.

No one would enter if it was locked...being caught in someone's room was a major no-no, as it was their own personal sanctuary.

Even the trainers didn't go near the personal rooms, preferring to throw things in from the door to make the trainees miserable as hell. Or they set up traps in the ceiling and dropped unpleasant things like cold water on them.

While everything was permitted, giving that little bit of courtesy between the Creed helped to keep things civil during an argument. Besides, it inspired them to get creative in their revenge while respecting boundaries.

Tsuna watched eagerly as the shell began to crack, and he felt something latch onto his flames. There was a brief moment when he could have asserted his dominance, but he wanted a proper partnership like what he had with Kyouya and not a trained pet.

When the egg cracked open, Tsuna's eyes locked onto to the amber orange of Natsu, his new eagle.

The chick was rather tired, but he knew better than to try and pick it up. He carefully maneuvered the nest he had gotten onto the table.

"Hey Natsu. It's nice to finally meet you properly," he said, smiling. It was taking everything he had not to dance about in joy. He had his new familiar!

* * *

Colonello chuckled at the way Tsuna fussed over Natsu without actually being overbearing about it.

"Pay up. Told you the kid would be a total mother hen the second that egg hatched," said Colonello.

Reborn grumbled, but handed over the cash anyway. Fon snorted as he accepted his own share...he had been with Tsuna for a while now, so he knew the boy would fuss over that bird like his own child until it was big enough to hunt on it's own.

"I will admit though... I'm surprised that he didn't try the same trick that the last three fools who got one of Falco's eggs did when it hatched."

"What do you mean?" asked Reborn.

"Well there's this brief moment when the egg hatches, well within a trained Assassin's reaction time, where you can assert your dominance and turn the birds into little more than trained pets. Naturally that reacts badly to Falco's bloodline, so the last three idiots basically ruined their chances to have a proper partner. They were promptly relagated to join the 'free range' messenger birds and act as extra breeding stock during mating season. I mean they got their birds the next go around, but they pretty much screwed their chances to have a really useful familiar on their side," commented Colonello. "Tsuna though... he's doing a lot of the 'right' things without being too overbearing about it. I can tell his bond with Natsu is probably going to be as strong as ours with Falco, Leon and Lichi."

"Tsuna has a preference for animals and it doesn't hurt that he's partnered with Kyouya. I guarantee that between the two of them that bird is going to be as well trained as Falco while being spoiled rotten," chuckled Fon.

"How soon until that chick fledges?" asked Reborn.

"I'd say around the time summer vacation starts, so a few months. Even if it is one of the eggs Falco helped to create, it's still a bird so it's going to take a while for it to grow big enough to fly. As for Tsuna, once he realizes the bird isn't going to up and die on him without warning while he's at school he should settle down. If nothing else I can keep an eye on Natsu while he's in training or at the school," said Colonello.

Reborn snorted.

True to Colonello's prediction, once the fact he had a familiar now wore off Tsuna calmed down...though it still took ten days for the fact he had a pet now to fade from his mind.

Fon was already looking for a smaller bird to give to Kyouya so he didn't feel left out. He had noticed a look in the boy's eyes that said that he might be a bit lonely.

Then again it was hard to find a small animal capable of surviving an Assassin's life style.

He later came back to Namimori with a small box containing a tiny hedgehog that Kyouya fell in love with immediately. It was soon rare to see the boy without Roll in his pocket watching the entire thing with observant eyes.

Tsuna had snickered the first time Hibird and Natsu shared a nest together and called Hibird "Natsu's big brother"... fortunately Hibird seemed to take to Natsu as a nestmate.

It was all decidedly cute, and made Tsuna snicker when he saw the two of them together.


	8. Chapter 8

"How's Bianchi's treatment going?" asked Tsuna.

"It's going okay, I guess. There was a brief moment when I thought they would put her in the Animus, but it was immediately shut down by Shamal and several others since her mind is still far too fragile to handle that sort of thing. Besides, there's a high risk she might sync with a Templar ancestor rather than an Assassin one, and that would only set her back," said Hayato tiredly.

He was leaning on Tsuna and just relaxing with the boy's Flames around him. It helped to sooth his temper a lot, because he knew he could trust the others to back him up when he needed it.

On Tsuna's shoulder, Natsu started preening Hayato's hair.

It was pretty clear that the bird had gotten Falco's intelligence and more than a few people were curious as to what sort of unique ability it would gain from his sire.

Tsuna still blushed a little when he heard praise for successfully bonding with such a rare and coveted familiar.

* * *

"Look out!"

Tsuna's hand lashed out and grabbed a girl before she went into the road when the light turned red. A cargo truck flew past, and it would have hit her if he hadn't seen it and yanked her back.

The girl landed on her backside, looking very shaken about the whole thing.

"Are you alright miss?" asked Tsuna helping her up.

"I...I think so."

She tried to stand up, except her legs still weren't able to hold her up.

"Do you have anyone you can call to come pick you up?" he asked.

Feeling her tremble in his arms, he took that as a 'no'.

Tsuna took out his phone and called Shamal.

Within minutes the girl, Nagi, was in the safe care of the somewhat perverted doctor. For all of his flirting, Shamal _did_ have standards and wouldn't touch an underage girl.

However what he found had him very pissed off.

"She's being abused. She's skittish as hell, and I've seen multiple signs of bruising and a sprained arm. I'm also concerned about her right eye... She needs someone to check it because it wasn't focusing properly," said Shamal flatly. "Any luck contacting the parents?"

Tsuna shook his head.

"Apparently the mother is a real piece of work. When one of the Creed went to speak to her about her daughter, they picked up on several signs that she might be the source of Nagi's injuries. Hell, she even paid the doorman and several guards to keep her daughter trapped in that house. I'm pretty sure we'd be doing the girl a favor if the mother were to...disappear," said Tsuna.

He was not happy.

"What are you going to do?" asked Shamal.

"How is Nagi doing at the moment?"

"She's asleep for now. It would be easier if she had an Active Flame or an Assassin's bloodline... then we could just use the Brotherhood to remove her from the home," said Shamal.

"There's a quick way to check... if she has any gifts or Flames, then we can find out in five minutes."

Nagi didn't have an active Assassin or Templar bloodline...but she was a borderline Flame Active. All she needed was one good push and she could access her flames.

From what Shamal could tell, she would be a Mist like him.

"So how are we going to play this?" asked Shamal.

"We give her the choice to get out of her 'home' and get a place where she will get not only training but people who actually care about her. If she's not interested, we'll leave her with Mama and Bianchi. If nothing else Mama can show the girl what a real mother is like, even if she is absentminded."

Nagi was very skittish and absolutely terrified when they brought up her mother. Being given even a _single_ chance to get away from that woman who just shoved her off to tutors and only took Nagi out for parties that she absolutely hated. The other children her age were cruel and petty and she never liked the outfits her mother forced upon her.

"We can offer you an out of sorts," said Tsuna carefully. "It would require you to undergo certain training, and you would be quietly relocated and your mother would not be allowed to reclaim you."

Nagi looked at him wide eyed and he almost frowned. She really needed to get her right eye checked.

"I...I don't have to go back?" she whispered.

Tsuna smiled at her, and something in her chest loosened. She knew he was being mostly honest with her and wouldn't force her to return if she didn't want to.

"You could have loyal friends, actually go to school with others your own age and have freedom and control over your own life. The only thing required would be that you be able to keep a really big secret from those not already in the know."

If it meant regaining control over her life, and never having to see that woman again, she would gladly keep her silence.

"I don't want to go back. I don't care if I have to kill for it," said Nagi quietly.

Tsuna's smile made her feel warm.

"Don't worry...we can work up to that point later. For now we're going to undo as much of the damage to you as we can and get you settled in."

Nagi was still in shock over how quickly everything was moving.

Without any warning at all she was given a room of her own in the Sawada house, and a small wardrobe she felt comfortable with.

She never did get a clear answer as to what happened to her mother when the Brotherhood got through with her. Though considering the police reports it was probably better she didn't find out. Even if she did inherit a large amount of money when the body was found, and her living arrangements were settled.

A lot of relatives came out of the woodwork to claim her, or rather try to stake a claim on her inheritance which she couldn't fully touch until she was out of high school...but somehow Tsuna managed to insure that his own mother claimed custody with the agreement that only _Nagi_ would be allowed to touch the money, even if it was just the interest.

Nagi didn't have an Assassin's bloodline, but there was strong evidence she might have a Mist in her recent ancestry. A powerful one at that, though with her self-confidence as low as it was she would need some major help before she could do more than distract the enemy.

* * *

Tsuna was eagerly watching Natsu. Today was the day Colonello said was most likely for him to fledge and take his first true flight. Naturally, Falco was calmly watching the entire thing with interest next to his human partner.

Natsu's wings clumsily flapped as he tried to fly out of the nest that Tsuna had made for him. At first the wingbeats were uncertain, weak.

However once he fell off the desk that quickly changed. Tsuna could _feel_ Natsu pulling on his Sky flames, which he eagerly allowed the bird to use. They were equal partners after all and he had some...amusing...plans for the bird if he could use Tsuna's Flames.

(Plans that Colonello had attempted the day the series first came out, but failed spectacularly... Falco didn't like the series nearly as much as his Master did and pecked him somewhat awful for it.)

Natsu's wingbeats grew considerably stronger and he went from clumsy and awkward to swift and deadly.

He let out a cry of truimph before flying straight to Tsuna's shoulder and slumping.

First flight was always the hardest.

"Not bad...but he's going to need training so he doesn't use your Flames as a crutch," said Colonello.

Tsuna did a lot of team building exercises where they had to learn to rely on each other and create actual trust between him and the other Assassins. Especially for Hayato, who's skills were still very green compared to the four blooded Assassins.

Hayato _hated_ it when it was his turn for the team exercises, because they were slowly breaking him of his overly dependent nature when it came to Tsuna. He had to learn how to trust his fellow Elements to 'rescue' his Sky from danger or capture and learn when it was acceptable to actually charge in like he was used to.

He had a lot of bad habits they needed to correct before Tsuna took over.

And since his great ambition was to be Tsuna's right hand, Hibari had him shadowing Kusakabe for "job training and interning".

Though in reality Kusakabe mostly showed Hayato how to handle the annoying amount of paperwork when it came to dealing with his boss' habits. Considering how...rambunctious...most famiglia were when it came to their missions, it was good practice for later.

So while Tsuna was out during these exercises, Falco was training his son in how to fly and attack in a way only another bird could. It wasn't like Tsuna knew how to teach Natsu how to read air currents or how to best strike a prey.

At night, Tsuna would bond with Natsu by talking with him. No training, just talking. He was slowly learning to connect his soul with Natsu, and once the bond fully formed between them there _should_ be an almost telepathic link that was identical to the one Reborn had with Leon.

Otherwise how else could the hit man get his partner to change into things without any signal or verbal commands? Clearly he had a telepathic bond with his lizard.

Colonello clearly approved of Tsuna's bond with Natsu. Finally someone worthy of Falco's progeny.

Of course the _second_ he found out what Tsuna was training his eagle to do, he damn near threw a fit in jealousy.

"Dammit kid, why didn't you tell me you were planning to teach your partner how to use Pokémon moves?!" whined Colonello. "Falco refuses to learn anything new!"

"What's Pokémon?" asked Reborn baffled.

Colonello's tantrum stopped so suddenly that Reborn knew he had said the wrong thing.

Tsuna, Colonello, hell, pretty much anyone who happened to hear that question turned to look at Reborn incredulous...and with some cases pity.

"What the hell kind of rock have you been living under that you don't know what Pokémon is?" asked Colonello slowly.

"Yeah really, especially since Leon could easily be a Ditto in disguise with a preference for chameleon form," said Tsuna in agreement.

Reborn scowled. He felt like he was being mocked and didn't know how and he did not like it.

(Tsuna later caught him cussing up a storm and cursing Whitney while playing Pokémon Gold in Italian. He swiftly took a video and sent it to Colonello who about died laughing his ass off.)

Tsuna felt particularly gleeful when he got Natsu to recreate a Wing Attack and found that while he wouldn't be able to use Steel Wing, he could always use Fire Wing instead.

Instead of having wings like steel, it used Storm Flames to melt through anything they hit like butter.

That being said Colonello _did_ throw a major tantrum when Natsu figured out how to create Icy Wind using a combination of Rain flames and Zero Point Breakthrough. He couldn't recreate Blizzard just yet, but there was the potential for it once Natsu was a bit older and able to store more of Tsuna's flames inside himself.

It had come as a surprise when they found that out during a routine check up. The more flames Natsu 'borrowed' from Tsuna, the more he was able to store some of it inside himself. It was just a little bit, but there was definitely a culmalitive effect.

Tsuna was patient. He wasn't stupid enough to flood his partner with Flames just because of that. He was still a fledgling after all.

* * *

All too quickly, summer vacation started.

And Colonello had big plans for the group.

Tsuna couldn't help but feel excited, while at the same time he was a bit depressed.

They were going to spend the next two months of vacation at Mafia Land under Colonello's personal supervision for special training.

He was going to put them through hell (and occasionally let them go out into the main park to play) for two full months. Particularly Hayato, who's skills were still the weakest.

On the plus side he had _finally_ moved past using only dynamite as weaponry.

That being said, he was still a very explosive and _loud_ when it came to killing, but at least now he wasn't so heavily dependent on lighting up his weapon.

Hayato had dove into the lessons on how to make smaller, but equally lethal bombs with abandon. Much like the explosive tags from _Naruto_ , they showed him how to make use of the ingredients he had on hand to make bigger, more compact explosions.

His previous fighting style was loud and sloppy. Now it was still loud but the impact was much greater...if he were to throw one of his new bombs into a densely packed area he would completely devestate the enemy in short order.

Good for enemy crowd control, but not good for stealth.

Romeo, Lambo's father, was equally pleased with his new station. He had harmonized very quickly with Tsuna...as had Lambo, oddly enough but no one was going to make a five year old a Lightning Guardian much less expect him to fight like a grown Assassin.

The small cow was still playing with I-Pin, training to become a true Assassin since his father was one. With any luck he could easily take his father's place in a decade or two when combat and old age caught up to his father.

It was rare for an Active Assassin like Romeo to make it to forty without acquiring damage.

Though there was no denying the fact that out of Tsuna's Guardians, Romeo was the oldest. A fact that he bore with calm humor.

At least Colonello was nice enough to let them play on the island once a week, for some much needed downtime. But he was still going to put them through hell though.


	9. Chapter 9

It was a clerical error that had dire consequences... Some idiot misread the list and had Bianchi slated for the Animus shortly before the group was supposed to return.

Tsuna only found out at the last minute, and by the time they reached the facility in the secret location it was already too late...she was under the influence of the machine.

Bianchi's mind was still quite fragile. If they handled this wrong they could send her straight back to the Templars, which meant they would have to kill her before she revealed anything she shouldn't.

Like the fact that the Brotherhood had a powerful active Sky in their ranks hiding in Japan, or the fact that Shamal and her brother were allied to them.

Hayato was one of the first to his sister when the machine finally turned off...it was too dangerous to pull her out so quickly after deep diving into the genetic memory of an ancestor.

Bianchi was trembling, and latched onto Hayato's sleeve in an effort to remain herself.

Because of her fragile mental state and because they didn't target the specific memories of one ancestor (this had been more of a test run to find out which ancestor she was most compatible with) her memories were a complete mess.

Hayato, despite his well justified phobia of his elder sister, held her dearly. Just because she scared the living crap out of him with her crappy cooking didn't mean he hated her. She was the only family left he bothered to claim.

A day and a night passed agonizingly slow as Bianchi fought to remain in control of her own sense of self. With the influx of foreign memories, some as a Templar and some as an Assassin, she was having great trouble remembering who she was.

And then, like a miracle, something finally allowed the memories to settle into place.

She felt warmth in her body, almost like it was floating. A sense of 'home' and 'belonging' that was indescribable.

She latched onto it eagerly, desperately...and she felt something in her soul subside and click into place.

She woke up thirty-five hours after being put into that machine with a bond that connected her to Tsuna, with a worried looking Hayato right next to her holding her hand.

"How are you feeling?" asked Reborn.

"Like myself...it's strange, but I can still hear their voices."

"That's normal," said Shamal. He carefully examined her with his Mist flame...and looked to Hayato. "She's stable, for the most part, but I would recommend against her going back into the machine unless they were deep diving a specific ancestor in another year or two. At least the Animus did one good thing...the shock of the dive caused whatever remained of the conditioning to either fracture or be rendered useless."

Bianchi shuddered.

She never wanted to be around another Templar again. She could tolerate Hayato and his Assassin's training, but the trauma of what she went through left some deep scarring.

"I'd rather just stick to the mafia side of things," she said.

"That can be arranged. If you don't mind telling the Creed everything you can remember about the Templars, we can have the memories themselves fully sealed and make it clear you're a neutral party," said Shamal.

"It won't keep off the zealots, but it'll keep you safe from the general morons," said Tsuna.

Bianchi nodded. She could live with that, even if she would always be at risk.

It was better than the alternative.

* * *

Seeing a large group of men around the house, Tsuna mentally steeled himself for a massive fight.

That is, until he got a good look at who was waiting for him.

"You have got to be kidding me. We finally get Bianchi sorted out and your old student decides to pay a visit?" said Tsuna incredulous.

Dino Cavallone blinked that he had been recognized so easily. Then he spotted the unusual tattoo and his eyes widened slightly.

"Ah. You didn't tell me that your new student was an Assassin... a blooded one at that," he commented.

Reborn blinked.

"I wasn't aware you knew about the silent war."

"While the Cavallone doesn't have an Assassin or Templar blood in them, they've had a long history with the Vongola and naturally have an agreement with the Creed. We're silent supporters of the Brotherhood and thus all heirs are trained from age ten to know how to spot a full Assassin and know the current passcodes. We've supplied many horses, medicines and general supplies to the Creed for centuries now," said Dino shrugging.

Tsuna's stance became far more friendly hearing that. Though Dino's eyes widened in recognition when Natsu flew to Tsuna's shoulder.

By this point he had enough Flames stored in him that the tips of his feathers were stained a Sky orange, and his eyes were an amber color identical to Tsuna's own when he was in Dying Will mode or even Hyper mode.

"No way... you have one of the specially breed eagles?" he said in shock. "And one of Falco's eggs at that!"

"His name is Natsu," said Tsuna proudly.

Dino grinned, and pulled out an odd turtle.

"This is Enzo... you could say he's Leon's because when I first got my whip he fell right on my head with it," said Dino.

"...How the hell can a chameleon like Leon produce a turtle? I mean I know he's a Ditto with a preference for that shape and all but did he mate with a female Squirtle or something?" asked Tsuna baffled.

Dino, once he processed exactly what Tsuna just said, started laughing.

"Better not make too many references. When I made that comment once to Romario Reborn had absolutely no idea what a Squirtle was," he laughed.

"Don't be too sure. I caught him cussing out Whitney before summer break while trying to get all the badges in Pokémon Gold, and I think he moved on to Ruby or Sapphire last week," said Tsuna snickering.

Reborn scowled at them both.

"So I take it Natsu is a Braviary or a Rufflet?"

"Rufflet, definitely, though he's been using some of Articuno's moves," said Tsuna immediately.

"Enzo is like a Squirtle or a Wartortle with a Water Absorb ability that makes him a headache to deal with when he gets wet," grinned Dino. "Though if he takes in too much he could easily be a Blastoise."

"I think that's Colonello," said Tsuna.

Dino snickered.

"Which one is Reborn then?"

"Absol, all the way."

It didn't take much convincing for Dino to stay the night, and much to the amusement of Tsuna he did have his games with him. Or at least the newer ones anyway.

* * *

Lal had a bad feeling for over a week, and it wasn't until she spotted Iemitsu's new 'accessory' that she found out why.

"Where on earth did you get that?"

Iemitsu noticed she was looking at his new pin and grinned.

"I made a few new friends who were more than happy to supply extra funding. We might be getting a new training facility and they're from Allied families."

If that wasn't the symbol for the Abstergo foundation, she would become a nun.

"What sort of friends?" asked Lal, hoping she was wrong.

On the plus side, if she was right then Tsuna now had all the 'reason' he would need to brutally murder his genetic donor, or at least have it professionally arranged.

If Iemitsu really _was_ stupid enough to allow his ego and hatred of the Varia cloud his judgment enough to join the Templars, then Lal would personally insure that the Alliance knew _why_ his own son killed him.

Actually, the idea of that idiot joining the Templars without knowing it was far too possible for it to be dismissed. Iemitsu always did like having things follow his own idiotic world view without bothering to consider the bigger picture, and he _hated_ Xanxus...and by extension the Varia...with a passion for reasons he never fully explained.

Iemitsu was more than happy to try and convert Lal to people who she knew for a fact were Templar agents, unaware that he was talking to the enemy of his new 'friends'.

The first thing Lal did upon confirming Iemitsu was now in with the enemy was to insure he didn't find out exactly how many Assassins were actually part of the group.

For once Iemitsu's disinterest in doing his paperwork properly worked to her advantage. She was able to quietly 'kill off' several of the more experienced agents without anyone the wiser, allowing several of Iemitsu's new "friends" to be hired in their place.

If Iemitsu thought she was going to let the fact he had chose the wrong side go down quietly, he was sorely mistaken. She was going to make damn sure that if he was going to hand over the Vongola to the Templars, that he would pay dearly for it...and with any luck they could wipe out a good number of Templar agents with an ambush they never saw coming.

Besides, Nono really needed a better External Adviser if he was going to keep listening to someone so blatantly _stupid_ as Iemitsu.

* * *

When Tsuna heard the general warning that CEDEF was being infiltrated by Templars because Iemitsu had apparently made "new friends" according to Lal, he was torn.

On one hand, he could easily believe his genetic donor was stupid enough to join a group that wanted to strip free will from mankind and rule them like slaves.

However he still felt some lingering feelings for a man that had donated half his genetics to him.

The latter feelings were easily swept aside by the cold, hard knowledge that this was also the same bastard who would have sealed his Flames without a second thought, sent a _Templar_ who rendered his own mother who happened to be a Master Assassin into a helpless, airheaded civilian who couldn't defend herself even if her life depended on it, and who left them all alone for _years_ at a time while pretending he actually gave a damn about his family while he was busy dragging his own organization down into the mud for being an idiot.

On second thought, screw it... Tsuna hoped that bastard died screaming for what he did to his mother. At least now if he had the chance to stab Iemitsu in the back he could honestly claim that the fool chose the wrong side.

After all, the Ninth wanted the Vongola to go "back to their roots" according to Reborn, and Giotto was from an Assassin's line, not a Templar one. Keeping a Templar like Iemitsu around was very counterproductive for what the current don wanted.

"You look rather bloodthirsty," said Reborn.

"Iemitsu has some new...friends. Ones that made the deadline for his overdue demise shorten to the point that if I get the chance I can now happily stab him in the back with a smile on my face and not get yelled at for it," said Tsuna darkly.

"...Patricide is heavily frowned upon. And the Alliance certainly won't appreciate having such a man lead the Vongola."

"Ah, but the Ninth specifically stated he wanted the Vongola to go back to what it was in the Primo's generation, right? Having Iemitsu around would make that very difficult, seeing as how he's decided to join the wrong side," said Tsuna with a vicious smile on his face.

Reborn had to blink.

"Iemitsu is a Templar?"

"Lal Mirch just confirmed it, and is setting up a massive trap for the Templars using CEDEF and Iemitsu. Once all of our agents and those from Assassin's bloodlines are removed and Iemitsu fills their place with his new 'friends', we're going to wipe out the organization entirely and with any luck take out as many Templars as we can," said Tsuna. "After all, Iemitsu didn't even recognize an Assassin when he married one, despite the Vongola being an Assassin's bloodline through Giotto and to a lesser extent Daniela. He should have known better."

"Daniela was an Assassin?"

"Not really, but she did get the training for her weapon from one and she was a major supporter. In fact she often gave the Brotherhood missions during World War Two that helped to keep the Vongola alive as well as take out several Templar facilities. I'd be surprised if her son was unaware of the Creed."

Reborn almost felt an iota of pity for Iemitsu, but to be honest the idiota had it coming for a very long time. The damage he did to his wife alone would have given his student reason enough to kill the man, as did the fact that Iemitsu's only claim as Tsuna's father was because he donated half his genetics to the boy.

It would be so easy to argue that Iemitsu's rights as a father and parent died years ago because he was never around. If anything, _Fon_ had a stronger claim on such a title than that idiot.

Besides, once word got out that Iemitsu was a Templar agent attempting to subvert the Vongola through CEDEF, it would become less a case of "patricide" and more in line with "icing a threat against the Family" in a very permanent fashion.

Dino had been surprisingly helpful in mapping out who was Templar or Assassin among the Alliance. Though the majority of them were allied to the Assassin's Creed, all Tsuna (or Reborn) would have to do in order to smooth the ruffled feathers over the percieved patricide would be to point out that Iemitsu tried to have his son, a powerful Sky sealed and that his incompetence rendered his wife completely helpless as well as brain damaged.

Honor thy father was one thing, but honoring one's mother held a lot more weight in the mafia. More than a few dons would be a bit more sympathetic once they found out what Iemitsu did to Nana, especially considering he often left her neglected for years at a time and barely paid her any real attention when he did visit for all of a week.

It wasn't like the idiot's infidelities were unknown, after all.


End file.
